At times coming off as though Jon Anderson of Yes jumped ship and went on a drug-fueled studio rampage with Frank Zappa or the guys from Primus, a pure spirit of experimentation drives the high adrenaline sound of Karmic Juggernaut's debut. From the spacey old school artwork to the hypersonic guitar buzzsawing reminiscent of, say, Blue Cheer or Flower Travellin' Band, there's no mistaking where these guys' hearts lie. But once you see their full schizophrenic yet beautiful potential released on gems such as 'Robotnik' or the feverish 'On Your Mark', it is really hard not to get sucked in.

While the mainstream media makes a big deal about bands like Greta Van Fleet, these guys are a much better example of a talented group of guys bringing the best aspects of 70's acid rock into our present with ablomb.

Jazzy in the classic New York City tradition but something of a whiplash inducing metal experience as well, I've been a fan of Imperial Triumphant's approach since they stormed into the spotlight with Abyssal Gods a few years ago. This however, sounds leaps and bounds to me above where they started: the dichotomy between their brassy dexterity and their brutal chops is certainly a highlight, but what ends up growing on you is the songwriting itself, especially centerpiece 'Chernobyl Blues' that spends half its runtime coming off a John Zorn ambient progression before exploding into a howling orgy of pure fury that'll blow you back in your chair if you weren't expecting it. Needless to say, this is not your typical BM outing by any stretch of the imagination: purists beware.

The king and queen of the classic 4AD days return in all their ritualistic multicultural glory. While I don't think Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard have much to prove after over thirty years of groundbreaking work, I'm always very interested when they emerge from their respective musical cocoons as a pair to guide me into their pleasingly austere and distinctive soundscapes. There are have been plenty of imitators since their early post-punk days after all, but nobody who does the Neoclassical World music thing better.

Split between two long tracks into a deft 30+ minute suite, Dionysus is an exploration into the twists and turns of the long forgotten days of the Bacchanalia. Occasionally 90's sounding keyboard effects aside, the end result is engrossing and covers a wide palette of sounds from multiple corners of the Mediterranean (and a bucketload of different instruments). There are hardly any lyrics to the proceedings, but that contributes to the overall mood of the piece (similar to the feeling I get from sitting in a long time with vocalizations of a Bulgarian choir).

All in all, if you wanted your Darkwave fix for 2018, this will definitely do it